Basque Government moves to protect Euskera as cultural heritage

The Basque Government has initiated procedures to have the Basque language, Euskera, recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage under special protection. The initiative, published in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country, aims to safeguard the language as a vehicle for Basque culture, noting its status as a “vulnerable” language according to UNESCO.

Officials identified the primary risk to the language as the gap between knowledge of Euskera and its effective use, a trend exacerbated by globalization and digitalization. The protection efforts seek to address historical and social factors that have hindered its transmission.

In a separate legal development, the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country has annulled a 2024 decree regarding the normalization of Euskera within the Basque Administration. The ruling, following an appeal by the Vox party, cited procedural defects—specifically an insufficient economic report—rather than the substance of the policy. The decree had previously aimed to regulate the promotion of the language among approximately 140,000 public employees and organizations, including the Ertzaintza and Osakidetza.